You guys know the drill. I don't own Initial D, its characters or anything else pertaining to the anime/manga. Emerald Fusion is deliberately a knockoff of an Initial D: Arcade Stage group that I hang out with, and yes, those are the cars we drive in the game. :P (I know, we're pitiful). They know who they are, and they gave me permission to write this.
Summary: Iketani sees four mysterious cars drive past him on Akina late one night. They are the gaijin group Emerald Fusion and they're in town to face the competition. Are they really a challenge, though...?
Initial D Fusion Stage
by BoomChish (boomchish@2die4.com)
Ryousuke Takahashi was seated at his desk, staring at his computer screen, which displayed an intricately drawn map of Mt. Akagi, the home course of both his teams, the Akagi RedSuns and his new brainchild, Project D. He was plotting the fastest line possible for Akagi's downhill course, depending on the car being used. Pausing for a brief moment to stroke his chin thoughtfully, he moved his hand towards his mouse to make an adjustment when the door to his room flung open and someone sat down on his bed in such a frustrated manner that his bed should have collapsed, but did not.
He did not turn around. "What is it now, Keisuke?" he demanded of the bleached blonde who was seated on his bed, sounding somewhat huffy.
Keisuke's voice was sharp with disdain as he answered his older brother, "I was on Akagi with Kenta and Hiroshi and then out of nowhere, this grey Hachi-Roku Levin shows up. For a second, I thought it was Fujiwara - since it was a Hachi-Roku - but then I saw that it was a Levin… and then this damn gwai lo steps out and challenges me to a race down Akagi. On Saturday, at ten o'clock in the evening. I was about to refuse, figuring he didn't look like too much of a challenge, then three other cars show up behind him… a white Spirit R FD, a pink Sil-Eighty and a yellow Evo VII. All drivers get out and get this: they're all gwai los, except for the Evo driver… she appears to be Asian, but not Japanese… They all look to be pretty experienced, and remembering Fujiwara's skill, I figured why not accept the challenge, so I did."
"And? What's your point?" Ryousuke queried, his dark eyes never leaving his computer screen.
"Who the hell are they? I've never even heard of Emerald Fusion," Keisuke half-whined.
"And?" his brother repeated. "If they challenge you, just accept it without too much of a fuss and go for it. Make them see why it's foolish to challenge Project D."
"Okay… just that… there's something… different about them…" he murmured.
"As you said, they're gwai los. Of course there's something different."
"Not all of them are… the girl isn't…"
"A girl, hm? Well, that ought to be interesting…" Ryousuke mused. "Apart from Impact Blue and that girl who won't stop stalking you with her silver FD, there haven't really been other girl racers around. It might be interesting to see how she fares against some of us."
"She is sorta cute…" Keisuke commented absently. Ryousuke merely shook his head at his otouto.
"That doesn't matter right now. In any case… the guy who challenged you… what's his name?"
Keisuke shook his head. "I don't remember too correctly… all I know is that the Sil-Eighty driver said something to him… something along the lines of "c'est paske tu suce, rat boy." Like, I understood 'rat boy' but not everything else… and why would he call his own team mate 'rat boy', anyway?"
"The Myougi Night Kids insult each other all the time… that's nothing new… and you should know as well as I do that Kyouichi Sudou of Emperor just loves to call Seiji Iwaki an idiot at any possible moment."
"Yeah, but 'idiot' is not the same as 'rat boy'," Keisuke somewhat protested.
Ryousuke finally turned his chair around to face his otouto with a half stern, half amused look on his face. "Why all the interest in how the members of Emerald Fusion treat each other?" When Keisuke couldn't produce a satisfactory answer, he continued, "And to satisfy your curiosity, the Sil-Eighty driver basically said "It's because you suck, rat boy." In any case, if they want to insult each other, that's their business. And what about Kenta's training… how is that coming along?"
Keisuke shook his head in frustration. "Sometimes, I wonder whether Kenta is even paying attention to what I'm telling him… it's like his head's stuck in the clouds or something when I'm talking…" He grunted in frustration. "Why do I have to train him, anyway?"
"Because he won't even listen to me. Or, failing that, he doesn't understand what I'm talking about," the elder Takahashi brother explained.
"… sometimes, I don't even know what the heck you're talking about…" Keisuke muttered under his breath. Unfortunately for him, Ryousuke caught it and eyed his brother coldly.
"In any case, you should practice for the race. We don't know the skill level of these people just yet... so you should make sure that you're absolutely ready."
"Aniki…" Keisuke half-protested, but Ryousuke had turned back to face his computer and did not turn around to face his brother again. Keisuke just sat there, staring at his brother's back, before he got up and left the room, closing the door behind him.
---
Days passed and the eventful day came around. By around nine in the evening, people started to gather at Mt. Akagi for the race between the infamous Keisuke Takahashi and a member from the intruding team known as Emerald Fusion. The members of Project D were already at the top of the mountain pass, waiting for the people to arrive.
"… from what you're telling me, my opponent's name is Simon… and that even the girl… Vanney, you said her name was, called him rat-boy Simon as well…" Keisuke was wrinkling his nose at the thought of his adversary.
"Lots of love there," Kenta Nakamura commented snidely as he sniffed derisively at the mention of Keisuke's opponent. Keisuke shook his head at Kenta's comment and turned to face Takumi.
"He's the second best racer in their team, right?" he asked the young Hachi-Roku driver.
"That's according to what Kenji told me," he confirmed while scratching his head absentmindedly. Keisuke resisted the urge to strangle him for not being informative enough, but he scowled instead. Suddenly, the walkie-talkies went off with loud, harried voices.
"There are four cars making their way up Akagi right now!" one of the lesser RedSuns members shouted. Then, "Wait… two of them are waiting at the finish line… and the other two are making their way up the pass right now… the one in the lead is a white Spirit R FD and the other is a grey Hachi-Roku Levin."
"Well…" Ryousuke mused as he stared at his younger brother with a smirk on his face; "they're here…"
Presently, the white FD pulled up to the top of the mountain pass with the grey Hachi-Roku Levin right behind it. The FD pulled over to the side while the Hachi-Roku took its position at the starting line next to Keisuke's bright yellow FD. All Project D members, and Kenta and Hiroshi watched as both drivers emerged from their cars and strode over to them. The driver of the FD was about the same height as Ryousuke, he was lanky and had brown hair and a mustache and goatee. He didn't appear to be all that menacing; in fact, he was smiling broadly. The driver of the Hachi-Roku Levin was somewhat shorter, with slightly lighter brown hair, bright blue eyes that sparkled with mischief and a huge grin on his face, not unlike the FD driver.
"So I take it this is a simple race downhill to the bottom of the mountain pass?" the FD driver queried amicably. Keisuke wrinkled his nose at the comment and Kenta practically growled. Ryousuke on the other hand, remained impassive.
"Indeed. But if it's not too much to ask, who exactly are you two?"
The FD driver bowed slightly. "My name is Nayth, and I'm the leader of Emerald Fusion." He gestured towards his friend next to him. "And this is Simon, the second best driver in our team. Our other two members, Denis and Vanney elected to stay at the bottom of the mountain pass and wait for us."
Keisuke wrinkled his nose again. "You want me to race him," he spoke, pointing to Simon, "while he drives in that?" he finished, pointing to the Hachi-Roku.
Nayth shook his head. "Don't let appearances deceive you. One of your members drives a Hachi-Roku as well, ne? And he's practically indestructible, or so I've heard. But that's not the point."
"The point is, I'm not good enough to race you?" Keisuke snapped. Ryousuke shook his head at his brother's answer. Nayth exchanged glances with Simon, then turned back to face both Takahashis.
"You accepted the challenge, ne? What seems to be the problem now?"
"Because you're insinuating that I'm not good enough to race…"
"Keisuke…" Ryousuke's calm voice cut in, "stop whining. You're delaying the race. You agreed to the challenge, now go get ready." When the younger Takahashi started to protest, Ryousuke gave him a cold glare and he dropped his shoulders and slouched. He made a face at Simon and scowled.
"Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're in a Hachi-Roku," he sniped.
"I wasn't expecting you to go easy on me," was his reply as he calmly made his way to his Hachi-Roku and got in. Keisuke stared at his opponent for a while before he shrugged and got into his beloved yellow FD and started his engine. Nayth stepped off to the side and watched impassively as the main timekeeper of the RedSuns and Project D, Hiroshi Fumihiro, stood a little in front of both cars and raised his hands for the countdown.
"There's no doubt in my mind that Keisuke-san is gonna win. I mean… that Hachi-Roku driver isn't anything like Fujiwara, so he doesn't stand a chance!" Kenta crowed. Nayth eyed the RedSuns's rain specialist and didn't say a word. Takumi caught Nayth's glance and was quick to answer Kenta.
"I still wouldn't be so sure… Wataru Akiyama was fairly good in his Hachi-Roku Levin… sure; he couldn't defeat me, but still… none of us have seen how these people drive… so we should reserve our judgement until later…"
"As always, the one who imparts the best wisdom is the one you'd least expect," Nayth commented loud enough for them to hear while Hiroshi was just finishing the countdown.
"… san… ni… ichi…GO!" he yelled as both cars sped forward and proceeded down the mountain pass. Keisuke, being the one with a more powerful car, had assumed the lead and led the way, with Simon's Hachi-Roku following him closely. All Project D members watched quietly as both cars disappeared down the mountain pass. Kenta was grinning broadly like an idiot when both cars could no longer be seen.
"See? I know Keisuke-san's gonna win! He took the lead right away! And in racing, that's half the battle!" he exclaimed with glee.
"In that other half, it's also very possible for his opponent to overtake him. You, above all people, should know that well, Kenta," Ryousuke murmured quietly.
In the meantime, Keisuke was carefully watching his adversary in the rearview mirror as he maintained his lead position. The first part of the Akagi downhill course was a simple straightaway, which then curved slightly to meet with a sharp curving hairpin turn. He knew that the Hachi-Roku, whether it was a Trueno, like Takumi's car, or a Levin, like this guy's, it was slow on the straightaways. He decided to exploit that fact and kept pulling away as much as he can during the first straight stretch of road. When the road curved, he kept his car aligned on the outside, ready to take the hairpin. When he came close, he downshifted, braked and quickly turned his car hard and drifted with considerable grace into the first major hairpin curve. When he exited and aligned himself, he was shocked to find the grey Levin right on his tail.
He muttered a curse under his breath as he dropped gears and kept drifting into the next set of short rapid turns, which, among other things, had another small, tight, hairpin. Once again, as soon as he exited the curves, the Levin was right behind him. Thankfully, there was another somewhat straight stretch of road, so he managed to use that moment to pull away again…
---
"I've heard a lot of things about this Keisuke Takahashi guy," Denis began as he stood at the finish line of the Akagi downhill course, watching the other people who were waiting in anticipation for the winner of the race to emerge. Vanney stood next to him, her eyes on the stopwatch, her brow furrowing with boredom.
"Like what? That he's got an array of fangirls eager to catch a glimpse of him?" she demanded somewhat snappishly as she jerked her head in the direction of the other girls who had elected to show up for the race. They all had signs that bore the words "We love you Keisuke-kun!" "Go Keisuke!" "I want to have your children!" and so forth. She shook her head at the sight. "Give me a break. I have better things to do than listen to them squeal and shriek like sissies."
"Well, I heard that ever since he'd started that elite racing team with his elder brother Ryousuke and that other kid… Takumi Fujiwara, he's been more serious about his racing… so Simon might have a hard time beating him…"
She gave her boyfriend a sidelong glance. "You're telling me you have no faith in rat-boy?"
"I didn't say that; I said that he's gonna have a hard time defeating Takahashi."
Vanney shook her head again. "So? If it's a challenge for Simon, then so be it. Rat-boy likes challenges, remember? He'll have fun with this one…"
"Yeah… you have a point…" he murmured as he snaked his arm around her waist and drew her closer to him. She merely chuckled and leaned her head against his shoulder.
---
Keisuke was starting to lose his patience. Every time he'd reach a straightaway, he'd manage to create some distance between his FD and the grey Hachi-Roku Levin, but as soon as he'd hit a tight corner, the Levin would be on his tail again.
Just like Fujiwara did, he'd remembered, annoyed at the thought.
At least the Levin hadn't passed him yet. And considering the way the Akagi mountain pass was paved, it was unlikely that he'd do so. The only curves that were left were the four wide hairpins near the bottom of the course, which were coming up soon. And there was a significant amount of distance between himself and the Emerald Fusion driver. He had this one in his pocket.
"…c'est paske tu suce, rat-boy," he recalled the Sil-Eighty driver had said to his teammate when the challenge had been issued. Keisuke smirked at the thought of that. Not even your teammates believe in your skills… With that thought floating in his head, he entered the first of the four wide hairpins… and was faced yet again with the Levin on his tail. He kept a tight reign on his steering and quickly claimed the inside as he exited the first curve…
But as he drifted into the second curve, he was neck to neck with the grey Levin. His blood started to boil. This can't be! How the hell can this guy catch up so quickly? He kept a tight rein on his FD as he drifted into the next curve… only to have the Levin box him in from the inside and pull ahead. He growled menacingly as he attempted to reclaim his position in front in the fourth and final curve before the finish line, but it was hopeless. The driver of the Levin had managed to keep his car in front of Keisuke's FD, blocking any attempts to pass him and thus, passed the finish line first and claimed the victory.
Keisuke allowed himself to curse out a long unmitigated string of profanity, though unusual as it was for him, as he pulled over to the side after he passed the finish line, and exited his car to congratulate his adversary, as an honorable racer would. The driver of the Levin, Simon, looked beside himself with joy, even more so when the Evo driver walked up to him and showed him his time on the course. He walked over to where the lesser members of Emerald Fusion were standing.
"I underestimated you. You're pretty good," he commented as he shook Simon's hand. The other driver smiled and returned the handshake.
"Thank you. You were pretty good too. For a moment, I'd thought I'd lost that one."
Keisuke glanced at Denis, who hovered protectively around the Evo driver… Vanney, Fujiwara said her name was. "So what do you think of your rat-boy now?"
"I never said that Simon was bad on the road. I always knew that. On the other hand, he and I have been friends for a long time, so we call each other names like that. Y'know… privileges of friendship." He grinned wolfishly. Vanney rolled her eyes and shook her head as she jammed the stopwatch into her pocket and folded her arms across her chest. Keisuke then glanced at her.
"And you? What's your take on all of this?"
She shrugged. "I'm not sure on what take I should follow. All I do know is that I hope no one from Emerald Fusion ever gets a handful of those," she answered derisively, pointing at the gaggle of fangirls who were now crying because Keisuke had lost the race. She stared at the younger Takahashi. "I simply don't know how you can deal with that…"
He shrugged in response. "Comes with time, I guess…"
She opened her mouth to speak when a roar of rotary engines was heard and two white cars arrived at the finish line and pulled off to the side. One was a white FD and the other was a white FC. All of a sudden, the groups of fangirls began cheering for Ryousuke as the tall dark-haired man exited his car and went to join the small group at the bottom of the mountain pass. At the same time, Nayth emerged from his FD and casually walked over to where his teammates were.
"Very well done Simon. I'm impressed," were the first words out of Nayth's mouth. Simon nodded and smiled broadly. Ryousuke viewed the exchange in silence, then turned to face his brother. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when all Emerald Fusion members looked in their direction.
"I'll tell you later," was all Ryousuke said.
---
"Argh! I can't believe I lost!" Keisuke vented after everyone had left and only Project D remained at Akagi. Well, at least the RedSuns' portion of Project D; Takumi had gone home to sleep so that he could do the deliveries in the morning. The younger Takahashi growled furiously and kicked the guardrail in his frustration. Kenta did his best to calm Keisuke down and Hiroshi looked concerned while Ryousuke kept his expression impassive.
"Keisuke… can you explain to me what happened?" he queried calmly.
He stared at his brother, his face registering complete frustration. "All I know is that I was in the lead for most of the race… then at the last four hairpins, he comes out of nowhere and boxed me in, then passed me and won." He kicked the guardrail again. "Damnit, I can't believe I lost!"
"It's okay, Keisuke-san… That other guy just got really lucky. I'm sure you could've beaten him had he not been so lucky," Kenta answered brightly, hoping that that would assuage the frustration that dominated the FD driver. Keisuke merely sent him a scathing glance, which caused Kenta to shrink away and apologize profusely.
"Keisuke," Ryousuke began in his usual modulated voice, "now think carefully… are you certain that it was nothing but luck? I have the feeling that you underestimated him."
"I did not!" his younger brother retorted, his cheeks burning. Ryousuke eyed him carefully and sighed before he shook his head.
"You weren't expecting him to keep up with you, weren't you? Nor were you expecting him to suddenly pass you near the end of the course." He was firm with his response, and seeing as Keisuke didn't respond, he shook his head again. "In any case, a loss is a loss… You'll just have to train harder…" Then he turned around and walked a distance away. Keisuke watched his brother leave, then growled again.
"Those damn gwai los… I'll get my comeuppance one of these days…"
"Keisuke-san…" Kenta began plaintively when he was cut off by another person's voice. "So you lost against a gwai lo in a Hachi-Roku Levin… and it wasn't even someone affiliated with Fujiwara… How amusing," the man murmured as he chuckled.
Keisuke glared at the newcomer. "Shut up, Nakazato. I beat you when I went to Myougi in any case… so what makes you think you stand a chance against them?"
Takeshi Nakazato of the Myougi Night Kids smirked and shook his head. "You picked the wrong member to mess with, that's all… You probably would've won had you raced the effeminate one with the pink Sil-Eighty… or maybe the girl in the yellow Evo VII… I get the impression that those two are merely there for show."
Keisuke wrinkled his nose. "I'd rather not waste my time with second-rate racers in any case. If those two were for show as you say, then it'd be a waste of my time and my gas to race them. And furthermore, it was the Levin driver who challenged me, not the other way around. I couldn't necessarily just go and refuse his challenge, then challenge the Sil-Eighty driver, or the Evo driver. That'd be inconsiderate and dumb." He shook his head. "And what are you still doing here, anyway?"
"Just curious… is there any way to get in touch with these Emerald Fusion gwai los?"
It was Kenta who answered, sharp and obnoxious, "If we knew, we'd be able to issue a rematch, but as it is, your guess is as good as ours." Keisuke cringed at Kenta's uncharacteristic fluctuation in vocals, which attracted the attention of Ryousuke, who returned to join the group.
"Nakazato, what are you doing here?" he demanded in his usual cool tone.
"I just came to watch the match between your brother and this so-called new team… Wasn't much of a match, if you ask me… but in any case… is there any way to issue out a challenge to them?"
Ryousuke shook his head. "Not that I know of… just show up at Myougi and hope that one of them shows up too… it's all we can do for now."
Nakazato made a face. "I usually don't like waiting around for people… but if you say so…" It was his turn to shake his head. "Well, we'll see what happens… and hopefully, Shingo doesn't run into them first… or only God knows what will happen…"
(END CHAPTER 2)
---
*sigh*
AN: Just going at it one by one… Maybe by the end of this week, I'll have what I've written so far uploaded =P
Chau
~BoomChish